Charging the 1080 question

[safetypro79]

I have not yet received my 1080 (3-17) but wanted to ask any owners;

Can the 1080 USB port charge internal Nickel Metal Hydride batteries when plugged into vehicle power?

Thanks guys!

John
Boise, Idaho

 

[MONITORING247]

my pro668 has a swich for ALK and down NIMH the unit must only be used to charge NIMH BATTERIES I USE DURACELL MYSELF or SERIOUS BATTERY DAMAGE MAY RESULT its in the manual hope this helps HAPPY SCANNING safetypro79

 

[marksmith]

Yes. Set the switch in the battery compartment to NIMH.

Mark
BCD536HP/HP1/HP2/BCD996XT/BCD396XT(2)/BCD996T/PSR-800 +

 

[safetypro79]

Thanks but auto charging question remains

As an experienced scanner owner (dating myself) from 68 so I am aware of setting the internal switch to correct battery type.

But my question was;

:" Can the 1080 be=battery's be charged from vehicle dc out let through a USB connector"

. I have a USB cable that I used for my HP2 and of course it worked well.

LOL... never could get the green led charge lite to activate always stayed red.

 

[Blackswan73]

It will charge with anything that will supply 5vdc 1a to the USB port

 

[Ed6698]

It says in the manual under External Power page 11. It does not specifically say it can be, just mentions electrical noise can happen. I would email Whistler, they should respond fairly quickly from my past experience, but probably not during the weekend.

 

[Blackswan73]

I have charged mine from an ac wall wart, and my Garmin cigarette lighter adapter.

 

[Blackswan73]

You can't hurt it as long as you use a USB charger that fits the mini USB port on the radio, and outputs 5vdc, at 1-2 amps. In order to prevent RFI, use a USB cable that has a ferrite bead.

 

[bradygreen]

Yes. It can be charged from any external power source if the batts are rechargeable and the switch is set to that battery type.

 

[safetypro79]

Thanks so much Gentleman !

Just nice to know there is a great amount of experience forum members with this new Whistler WS-1080 model based on tried and well founded methods,

Much appreciated

John
Boise, Idaho

 

[Ed6698]

The WS1080 is a very nice scanner regardless of what some say about it. I really like not having a keypad now, so easy to operate the scanner in one hand with just my thumb. Where I live this scanner operates flawless, there is no tweaking to be done to make it work better, it just works like it should out of the box. My 1080 has not had one problem from day one, I have had mine since Sept 2014.

 

[jaspence]

1080 charging

I use a regular usb cable to charge mine from the car usb port in one car and with a cigarette lighter adapter to usb in my other car with no problems. Just remember to set the charge time from the default to a much lower number, especially if your 12V source is always on.

 

[DickH]

Yes. It can be charged from any external power source if the batts are rechargeable and the switch is set to that battery type.

CAUTION:
Do not charge it directly from the 12 volt car battery (cigarette lighter). The charging voltage can not exceed 5 volts. To charge from the car you need an ADAPTER that changes the 12 volts to 5 volts.

 

[MONITORING247]

i wonder can you use a phone charger to use on these? hmmmmm may be a new way to charge? these units no one has thought about or posted till now SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT!...... HAPPY SCANNING

 

[Ed6698]

I have used the USB charger from Apple and Samsung phone, with the USB cable for the 1080. I have my charge time on the scanner disabled, just use them to power scanner at times.

 

[bradygreen]

Folks...

Most AC>USB plug-in adapters AND car lighter > USB are 5V and range from .05W to 12W
What else are you thinking????

Of course phone chargers will work. Do you think the adapters that places like Scanner Master sell for $15 are special? No, they are not. I have 5 adapters from old phones laying in a drawer that will power this scanner. There's no voodoo or black magic at play here.
And DickH - thanks for the warning, but how exactly would somebody charge or power USB from a car lighter port directly WITHOUT using a convertor?

Have you guys never seen these before? See attached pics

 

[DickH]

And DickH - thanks for the warning, but how exactly would somebody charge or power USB from a car lighter port directly WITHOUT using a convertor? ...

I was responding to your statement, "... It can be charged from any external power source".
ANY external power source can be ANY voltage.

 

[bradygreen]

I was responding to your statement, "... It can be charged from any external power source".
ANY external power source can be ANY voltage.

Fair enough. I guess I should have qualified that statement with "Any External USB power supply" assuming they'd be 5V

Cheers.

 

[marcotor]

This isn't exactly breaking news. I have been using my Pro-18 and 800 with USB power (including iPhone and Samsung chargers, along with the USB built in my vehicle) since I purchased them.